Fundació Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona) publishes the following information in compliance with Law 19/2014, of 29 December, on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, Decree 8/2021 of 9 February, on transparency and the right of access to public information and Order JUS / 152/2018, of 12 September, which establishes to what extend foundations and associations declared to be of public interest are subject to the instruments of transparency established by Law 21/2014, of December 29, of the foundations’ protectorate and the verification of the activity of the associations declared to be of public interest.
For further information, contact info-transparencia@irbbarcelona.org
Updated: 30/06/2024
Next update: 29/12/2024
Institutional information and organisational structure
1.- Institutional information
IRB Barcelona is a non-profit foundation committed to understanding key issues about human health and diseases. It was founded in October 2005 by the Government of Catalonia and University of Barcelona (UB), and is located in the Barcelona Science Park (Parc Científic de Barcelona, PCB). It is considered a Catalan research centre through its recognition as a CERCA centre, and as such it is subject to the legal regulations applicable to these types of centre, and it also belongs to the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
The Institute's goals include carrying out multidisciplinary research of excellence in a scope for action between Biology, Chemistry and Medicine, offering its members, students and visitors high-level training in the field of Biosciences. We also offer an element of innovation through active technology transfer for the benefit of society, as well as participation in an open dialogue with the community through participatory and educational activities.
The Fundació Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona) is a public sector foundation registered in the Foundation Register of the Government of Catalonia under number 2245.
2.- Organisation
Board of Trustees and Committees
The Board of Trustees is the governing body of IRB Barcelona. The Board of Trustees is responsible for overseeing all activities at IRB Barcelona, approving regular expenses and ensuring that annual goals are achieved. The chair of the Board of Trustees rotates between the Minister of the Department responsible for research and the Minister of the Department responsible for Health of the Government of Catalonia every four years. The Board of Trustees is made up of 9 members who represent the Government of Catalonia, the University of Barcelona, the BBVA Foundation and 2 prominent members from academia, appointed by the Academic Council of IRB Barcelona.
The Governing Board (Junta de Govern) is appointed by the Board of Trustees and its members have to be members of the Board of Trustees of IRB Barcelona. It comprises a representative of the department of the Government of Catalonia responsible for research, a representative of the same government responsible for Health and a representative of the University of Barcelona. Among its functions, this body implements the agreements approved by the Board of Trustees, exercises the functions of the Board of Trustees expressly entrusted to it, conducts periodic follow-up of management tasks and promotes activities at IRB Barcelona.
Furthermore, IRB Barcelona has three auxiliary consultation bodies set up by the Board of Trustees: the External Advisory Board, the Business Advisory Board and the Academic Council.
The External Advisory Board provides guidance on the scientific activities undertaken at IRB Barcelona, its most fundamental task being to carry out the scientific evaluations of the projects performed, including recruitment strategies for research staff, evaluation of the Strategic Plan and Annual Reports. The members of this body are chosen and appointed by the Board of Trustees after the director of IRB Barcelona has proposed the most outstanding national and international scientists.
The Business Advisory Board comprises individuals who are linked to the activities undertaken at IRB Barcelona and individuals of recognised prestige or from institutions and companies they represent. This board assesses the research activities developed by IRB Barcelona, with the aim to detect the needs of companies, and Health centres and institutions for innovation and technology knowledge transfer, as well as the necessary relations between IRB Barcelona and societal demands.
The Academic Council is charged with delegating 2 members of the Board of Trustees from prominent figures in academia. It comprises the following members: the secretary general of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), the president of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and the president of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
Managerial team
Francesc Posas Garriga is the director of IRB Barcelona. This position is appointed by the Board of Trustees and is accountable to this body. The director’s main duty is to represent IRB Barcelona in all relations with other internal bodies and with third parties and to lead and manage the centre.
Margarida Corominas Bosch is the managing director of IRB Barcelona. This position is appointed by the Board of Trustees, upon the suggestion of the Governing Board and the director of the Centre, and it is accountable to the latter. This position is responsible for the organisational, legal and financial management of IRB Barcelona and for coordinating the administration and research support team.
Other internal management committees
IRB Barcelona has a number of internal management committees: the Executive Committee, the PhD Advisory Committee, the Committee for Research Integrity, and the Equality and Diversity Committee.
Organisational structure
To tackle our research challenges, IRB Barcelona is structured along three axes: research laboratories, organised by programmes and research nodes; core facilities; and the administration team. See the organisation chart here.
3.- Incorporation and amendment of the articles of association
IRB Barcelona was legally founded in 2005 by the Government of Catalonia and the University of Barcelona. The deed of incorporation and the amendments of the Articles of Association of IRB Barcelona can be consulted below:
(i) Escritura constitución
(ii) Escritura modificación estatutos 2013
(iii) Escritura de modificación y refundición de estatutos 2021
4.- Code of good practices
IRB Barcelona has a Code of Conduct that establishes the good professional practices that govern the actions of all members of the centre, both employees of IRB Barcelona and external members. The aim is to consolidate an environment conducive to quality research and to establish guidelines on the integrity of members of the IRB Barcelona community in their daily work. The recommendations have been prepared in accordance with current legislation.
The Code of Conduct complements IRB Barcelona's official policies and documents such as those related to health and safety, working conditions, information management, financial issues and intellectual and industrial property and is not a substitute for them.
IRB Barcelona has also adhered to the CERCA Code of Conduct, which defines the principles of action that must guarantee the commitment of good practices in the scientific and management field of CERCA centres.
5.- Annual Report
The annual report provides an overview of the activities and developments that have taken place in the IRB Barcelona research community during the year.
- Annual report 2023
- Annual report 2022
- Annual report 2021
- Annual report 2020
- Annual report 2019
- Annual report 2018
- Annual report 2017
- Annual report 2016
- Annual report 2015
Financial, accounting and assets information
1.- Budgets
The budgets approved by IRB Barcelona are listed below:
The Government of Catalonia did not approve the budgets for 2018, 2019, 2021 or 2024. The documents conferring an extension of the budgets approved for 2017 and 2020, respectively, are provided below:
The executed and liquidated budgets for IRB Barcelona:
2.- Annual accounts
Details of IRB Barcelona’s annual accounts can be found in the following documents:
3.- Inventory of real estate, movable assets and management of assets
Real estate
IRB Barcelona does not own any real estate. The centre carries out its activity in rented premises, for which it has signed a lease agreement with the Fundació Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB), as detailed below:
Movable Assets
The list of movable assets of special value, i.e. those acquired by IRB Barcelona for a value equal to or greater than the minimum economic threshold established by the harmonized supply contracts, is provided in the following documents:
Public procurement and agreements
1.- Procurement
According to the provisions of Law 9/2017, on Public Sector Contracts (LCSP), IRB Barcelona is a "contracting authority that does not have the status of a Public Administration" and as such it is subject to the regulations governing public procurement.
The principles governing public sector procurement are: (i) freedom of access to tenders; (ii) publicity and transparency of procedures; and (iii) non-discrimination and equal treatment of tenderers.
Likewise, public procurement seeks to ensure the efficient use of available funds, in connection with the objective of budgetary stability and control of expenditure, and the principle of integrity. This objective is achieved by (i) requiring prior definition of the needs to be met, (ii) safeguarding free competition and (iii) selecting the most economically advantageous tender.
In compliance with the principle of publicity that governs public procurement procedures, IRB Barcelona has a Contractor Profile and access to the Contracting Platform of the Government of Catalonia, which allows the Internet to be used for announcements of calls for tenders issued by IRB Barcelona, the award of the same and all that relevant information relating to the contracts.
The IRB Barcelona Contractor Profile can be consulted on our website:
https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/about-us/procurements
The Contracting Platform of the Government of Catalonia can be accessed at:
The link to the Register of Public Contracts is:
https://registrepubliccontractes.gencat.cat/rpcac/index.html#/cerca
In this link, you can consult the agreements and interpretative criteria of the public procurement advisory bodies:
https://contractacio.gencat.
2.- Agreements
IRB Barcelona has signed collaboration agreements with other entities to promote research activity at the centre. Please find below a list of the signed agreements currently in force:
IRB Barcelona staff and recruitment call
1.- IRB Barcelona staff
Members of IRB Barcelona staff are classified into different professional categories based on the required characteristics of the job. Details of IRB Barcelona staff composition are provided in the following documents:
Information on salaries, compensations and allowances is provided in the following documents:
2. Current Collective Agreements, Union Representation, and Personnel Agreements
The collective agreement for the research sector is currently under negotiation; therefore, the applicable collective agreement for *IRB Barcelona is the Offices and Desks agreement:
Link to the agreement: https://dogc.gencat.cat/es/document-del-dogc/index.html?documentId=867982
In the following tables, you will find information related to union credits.
| Year | Total Union Hours | Total Delegate Hours | Total Works Council Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 309 | 0 | 309 |
| 2022 | 253 | 2,5 | 250,5 |
| 2021 | 156 | 11 | 145 |
3. Resolutions of Authorization or Recognition of Compatibilities
Below is a list of the resolutions for authorization or recognition of compatibility granted by IRB Barcelona:
4. Recruitment Announcements
Recruitment announcements for positions in both the research laboratories and scientific platforms, as well as the administration area, can be found at the following link to the IRB Barcelona website:
Scientific and technological services
A list of the scientific services and equipment offered by IRB Barcelona is provided at the following link: